Art show marks eighth reunion of Greenhaven Prison Program

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Marcella Veneziale Arts Editor

What began as a weekly discussion about current events in 1979 between Vassar students and inmates at Greenhaven Prison in Stormville, NY has grown into a strongly established program at the College. Vassar’s Greenhaven Prison Program, directed by Professor of Religion and Africana Studies Lawrence Mamiya, includes the second annual Greenhaven Prison art show, which features the work of both current and former inmates.

The exhibit commemorates the eighth annual reunion of students who have participated in the program. This year’s show features works by Melvin Isaac and Brian K. Jones, and an opening reception was held on Monday, March 27 in the Aula. All of the artists’ work is for sale, and the proceeds go directly to the artists.

This year, Anine Booth ’06 led the organizing committee for the exhibition. Kathy Rose ’05 came up with the idea for an art show last year, and suggested Jones and Isaac for this year’s committee. Booth said that Rose was “interested in the role art can play in people’s lives in prison as a creative outlet.”

Relations between Vassar and the outside community are often perceived as strained, and programs like the Greenhaven Prison Program try to change this image by fostering ties with the community. Students and prisoners regularly come together to discuss subjects such as stereotypes, race and class issues. Both artists use these discussions as source material.

Jones’ works address tensions between maintaining tradition and the effects of globalization on modern life. A young Mexican child wears a sports T-shirt paired with a traditional hat in one work, and Jones portrays individual figures in other portraits in both contemporary and traditional clothing. In another painting, the American flag serves as a backdrop for a group of black figures, some with distorted faces.

Jones and Isaac both depict contemporary figures as well, particularly rap stars. Jones contributes a moody portrait of Tupac Shakur. Isaac, who works less with individual portraiture and more with groups of figures, has a piece that crams the faces of a large number of rap artists into a small canvas. The result is a colorful pastiche of artists of the past and today.

Both artists also have works that deal with the human body. Jones has a charcoal of a realistic, cropped female nude. Isaac displays a detailed pencil drawing called “Dancers” which depicts a group of three dancers in strict, almost mechanical, poses. They seem to spring from the same space, emphasizing their physical capability.

The Africana Studies Program and the Student Activist Union (SAU) helped organize the exhibit and other reunion events. Booth noted that SAU members Sarah Knerr ’06 and Kate Conlow ’09 helped organize the event. In addition to the art exhibit, there will also be three film screenings of movies dealing with prison issues this week.

A private event for current students, alumnae/i, and formerly imprisoned people who have participated in the program with guest speakers, performances, and workshops will be held Saturday, April 1.

A booklet entitled “Writings of Reconciliation” accompanies the exhibit, and contains essays by incarcerated men about their experiences in prison, as well as commentary on problems that still plague New York State’s prison system.

Between 30 and 40 students participate in the prison program each semester, and Mamiya, who has led the program for 27 years, said, “Prior to the year 2000, things were a bit freer and looser in the prisons. The rules are stricter now, partly because…there was going to be a planned state-wide prison strike, and the authorities began clamping down.”

However, the program continues to expand, with a second program at a prison in Otisville, and a possible third program in Fishkill.

Mamiya praised Vassar for its nearly three-decade commitment to the program: “We’re unique in that we have one of the few long-lasting programs,” he said.

According to Mamiya, prisons are “very much part of the community” in the areas surrounding Poughkeepsie, and programs such as Greenhaven and the art exhibit are productive steps toward breaking the prison boundaries.